Books, Maps and other Helpful Things

This book is designed to facilitate Irish family history research by
providing a comprehensive listing of the record sources available in
each country in Ireland.

In this revised edition, the author has included
many new sources. In particular, the sections for each county on "Census
and Census Substitutes," "Miscellaneous Sources," and "Research Services"
have been expanded. The details of the Prebysterian, Church of Ireland and
Catholic records have also been extensively amended. This new edition
also lists all of the heritage centers which prvide search services, and it
specifically indicates which parish registers, gravestone
inscriptions, and other sources have been indexed by each. The growth of these centers
is the most important development in Irish family history research in the
last 10 years, and this book shows how this new resource can be used to
greatest effect.

*** Remember, the etymology of a surname is NOT a means of proving
*** genealogical descent.***

"The Surnames of Derry" is interesting. Published by the Genealogy
Centre of Derry (They are ON THE NET: do a search) in 1992. These
folks appear to have had too much of the stuff you drink out
of a bottle one night and under its inspiration embarked on an
astonishing project: They vowed to trace the
origins of every surname in the Foyle Commmunity Directory . Only
1,860 unique surnames.They found most of them in books but
102 they could not. SO they called up the folk or wrote them
letters and asked them.

The book lists the number of instances as as well. It is possible
to see all the recent emigration into Derry: A Cheung (now a "Scots-
Irish" name ;), some Pakistanis, an Aquino who came with
the US Navy in 1960 and settled down. It is Spanish in origin,
but the family came to the US from the Philipines where the
grandfather had immigrated [try tracing THAT].

In some cases they appear to have looked the surname up in all the
phone books in Ireland and can report a single instance of the name
in all of Ireland. Though Prasad is more common: 4, two in NI and
2 in the Republic. Here's Pulis -- only one in Ireland and it's
in Derry. There's only one Grimsey in NI (in case you wondered).

Burke's Irish Fammily Records

There are several points to note about Burke:
1. There are several editions, so it is always important to note the
date of publication. Families came and went between different editions,
and they were only published at lengthy intervals.
2. Burke's editorial powers were somewhere between nil and minimal, with
a tendancy to the bottom of that scale. They sent out a form, the family
filled it in, no checking was done, and they published it. This means
that while contemporary data is often reasonably accurate, many of the
claims to early ancestors are in error and sometimes downright bogus.
3. The family described will be the blood relatives of the person who
owned the land at the time that the book was published.
The last edition of Burke's Irish Family Records was published some time
around 1972. It's now quite a rare book and sells for upwards of 250
pounds/punts if you can find one.
Barney Tyrwhitt-Drake
Here's what the Oxford Companion to Irsh
Literature has to say:
"Burke's Landed Gentry of Ireland (Ist edn. 1899), a genealogical
dictionary of Irish landowning families, published by the company
established by John Burke (I787-1848), compiler of A Genealogical and
Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the United Kingdom
(1st edn. 1826). The sole criterion was ownership of 1,000 acres in
Ireland. Most of the names listed belong to *ascendancy families, though
not all were Protestant and not all were titled. Following the *Wyndham
Land Act in 1903 the editors were forced to ask if there were still a
landed gentry, as noted in the 1912 Preface. After a fourth edition in
1958 the work was reissued as Burke's Irish Family Records (1976),
listing the descendants of `500 interesting dynasties', whether living
in Ireland or settled abroad."

Burkes's Peerage and Baronetage comes in several editions also, each one including
newly created peers and leaving out those who no longer qualify.
The usual way of using Burke is to find a library that has a selection,
usually incomplete, and try to photocopy the relevant pages.

Some other valuable SURNAME books include:

Bell: The Surnames of Ulster, a paperback published by Blackstaff Press.

O'Hart: Irish Pedigrees
Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. Baltimore 1976
Fifth edition, in two volumes. Original printing, Dublin, 1892
Out of print. Found in many LDS Family History Centers and some
library reference sections.

"Irish Pedigrees" by O'Hart

"A Census of Ireland, circa 1659 with supplementary material from the
Poll Money Ordinances (1660-1661)" edited by Seamus Pender, M.A. It is
available on microfilm through the Family History Library (film #
0924648)

"The Cromwelliam Settlement of Ireland" by John P. Prendergast, which was
first published about 1878, reprinted 1922 and is available in some
libraries, probably also FHL. You might get a copy through Inter-Library loan,
but it has also recently been reprinted. Many lists of names.
Fascinating book.

The Annals of the Four Masters were translated into English by John
O'Donovan well over 100 years ago. The six volumes contain Gaelic and
English texts on opposite pages and copious notes by O'Donovan. It is an
outstanding work of scholarship. It was reprinted a few years back and was available at a cost of about
seven or eight hundred pounds, still available, perhaps, from the Four Masters
Bookshop in Donegal Town.

Family History Library has it FHLC1009490 on 1 microfilm.
The annals of the Four Masters, translated from the original Irish by Owen
Connellen, with annotations by Philip MacDermott and the translator.

There is a 6-volume series of books by Arnold Kludas titled "Great
Passenger Ships of the World."

These volumes give the kind of information you're seeking, including the
line or lines each ship sailed for and technical information about the
ship. Pictures are included for most ships or their sister ships.

Four Masters???
To those interested in this wonderful Irish resource -- I sell
the complete 1854 edition, (O'Donovan's translation) which has the text
in both Irish and English (on facing pages, a great aid to those
learning Irish) with extensive footnotes and index, all on 41
microfiche for $123.

===========================
I think O'Donovan did his translation in 1850.
Parts of the Four Masters Annals are on a Web site, but are in Latin and Irish.
Much of what was in the Annals was included in the two vols. of Irish
Pedigrees, by John O'Hart, found in many LDS libraries and others, in their
reference sections. These two vols. are out of print.

===============
Here are some other history sources. I forgot where I found this list though;

Translated into English:
The Annals of Clonmacnoise: Being Annals of Ireland from the
Earliest Period to A.D. 1408. tr. Connell Mageoghagan.
1896. Dublin: University Press.

Cogadh Gaedhel re Gallaibh (The War of the Gaedhil with the
Gaill), or The Invasion of Ireland by the Danes and other
Norseman). ed. James Henthorn Todd. 1867. London:
Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer.

Other Primary Sources:
Linea Antiqua Nobilitas. O'Farrell

Fiants - Elizabeth. The Eleventh Report of the Deputy Keeper of the
Public Records in Ireland. 1879. Dublin:Alexander Thos. 87
& 88 Abbey-street.

Other Secondary Sources:
Annals of Derry, Showing the Rise and Progress of the Town
from the Earliest Account on Record to the Plantation
under King James I. 1613 - and thence of the City of
Londonderry to the Present Time. Simpson, Robert.
1847. Londonderry: Hempton.

The History and Antiquities of the County of the Town of
Carrickfergus. From the Earliest Records to 1839. Also,
A Statistical Survey of Said County. McSimkin, Samuel.
1909. Belfast:Mullan & Son.

The History of Ireland, from the Invasion by Henry the Second to
the Present Times. William Dolby. 1884. New York:
George Virtue.

Pat Traynor

" The Irish Americans " is the actual name of the book. At the bottom
of the front cover it says 'The Immigrant Experience'.
ISBN 0-88363-125-3. Cost $60 US, $84 Canada.

THE FAMINE SHIPS by Edward Laxton, ISBN 0-8050-5844-3.

The following pertinent resources were found at the Indiana State Library:

Title: Emigrants from Ireland to America, 1735-1743: a transcription of
the report of the Irish House of Commons into enforced emigration to
America
Author: McDonnell, Frances
Published: Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1992
Note: Indexed by surname

Kansas, Sidney. Immigration, Exclusion, Deportation and Citizenship of the
United States of America. 3rd edition. 1948. Matthew Bender Co., New York, NY.

Kettner, James H. The Development of American Citizenship, 1608-1870. 1978.
University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC.

Neagles, James H. & Lila Lee. Locating Your Immigrant Ancestor: A Guide to
Naturalization Records. Revised edition. 1986. Everton Publishers, Logan,
UT.
Washington, DC.
Location of naturalization records for every state in US; history of
naturalization; explanation of naturalization process; guide to determining
date and place of ancestor's naturalization.

Newman, John J. American Naturalization Processes and Procedures, 1790-1985.
1985. Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis, IN.
History of naturalization, procedures required, who could be naturalized,
and records.

Richard J. Wolfe, "Early New York Naturalization Records in the Emmet
Collection; with a List of Aliens Naturalized in New York 1802-1814," Bulletin
of The New York Library LXVII (1963) 211-217
Contains the names of 115 aliens, Mostly Irish, naturalized in New York
during the period covered. Gives name, place of birth, age, allegience,
country from which the alien emigrated, place of intended settlement, and
date.

From: North Carolina Research, Genealogy and Local History. Second Edition, by Helen F. M. Leary

Chapter 16: Superior Court Records

The North Carolina General Assembly of 1806 passed "An act for the more uniform and convenient administration of justice within this state", establishing a superior court of law and a superior court of equity in each county. The county superior courts have functioned ever since, although their law and equity functions were unified in 1868; additional changes were effected in 1966.

Superior court minutes, also called Minute Dockets and Minute Books, consist principally of notations concerning civil and criminal proceedings. Entries in these bound volumes, which were entirely handwritten until the twentieth century, are generally concise and technical so that some knowledge of the law and its language will be needed to understand......Most nineteenth century superior court minutes are in the State Archives........

Records of three types of activities usually appear in superior court minutes:
1. Internal affairs of the court. (impanelling jurors, etc.)
2. Criminal actions
3. Civil actions, which includes Records of aliens and naturalizations.

These records of aliens and naturalizations generally gave the petitioner's name, age, birthplace, and length of residence in the United States, with renunciation of allegiance to a foreign ruler. An 1831 example read:

Court records are rarely indexed (I've never found them to be). The collection at the State Archives in Raleigh is mind boggling! A wonderful place to go! I guess you'd have to have a fairly good idea )about) when an ancestor would have approached the court! I've been known to struggle thru page after page myself!!TMattison

Scots-Irish, Ulster Scots, and their American presence.

There are a number of books on the Scotch-Irish culture. Probably the most
often cited is

The Scotch-Irish: A Social History.
By James Leyburn. 377 pages. paperback.
This is one of the most readable and reliable studies of those people
who came through Ireland on their way to North America. It is
divided into three sections: The Scots in 1600, The Scots in Ireland,
and The Scots-Irish in America.

Another you should take a look at if you haven't already is ALBION'S SEED:
FOUR BRITISH FOLKWAYS IN AMERICA by David Hackett Fischer. If you are
looking for information on the Scotch-Irish in the Carolinas then you need
to take at look at CAROLINA CRADLE: SETTLEMENT OF THE NORTHWEST CAROLINA
FRONTIER, 1747-1762 by Robert W. Ramsey and THE GREAT WAGON ROAD by Parke
Rouse, Jr. If its the American Revolution in the South and the involvement
of the Scotch-Irish in the conflict then you will want to take a look at THE
ROAD TO GUILFORD COURTHOUSE: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION IN THE CAROLINAS by
John Buchanan.

There are also a number of books available (although you would probably have
to special order tham as they come from the United Kingdom) on different
aspects of Scotch-Irish culture. One of the best is TWO CENTURIES OF LIFE IN DOWN,
1600-1800 by John Stevenson
The University of Ulster has an on-line catelog:

It has the following books on Ulster Emigration . You might be able to
find these in a US library.

For those interested in a copy of "Irish and Scotch-Irish Ancestral
Research," by Margaret Dickson Falley, originally published in 1962, the
Genealogical Publishing Co., 1001 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, MD
21202-3897, tel: 1-800-296-6687 has just republished this work. It
consists of two volumes, 813 pp and 354 pp., indexed, cloth, for $70.

The Scotch-Irish: A Social History.
By James Leyburn. 377 pages. paperback.
This is one of the most readable and reliable studies of those people
who came through Ireland on their way to North America. It is
divided into three sections: The Scots in 1600, The Scots in Ireland,
and The Scots-Irish in America. $16.95

Ulster Emigration to Colonial America, 1718-1775.
By R. J. Dickson. 320 pages. paperback.
Long an imported and very expensive work, this history of the migration
of almost 250,000 settlers from northern Ireland to the
Americas now is available from a US importer at a much more reasonable
price. It is a modern, readable study, and one which will
give a great deal of information to the historian and genealogist eager
to understand those who came to America via Ireland from
Scotland.
$29.95

The Irish Ordnance Survey sheets are quite large, over 3' x 4'. The best
means of reproducing them is as oversize xerox copies which will provide
you with a very clear, full-size reproduction of the sheets. The charge
is $2.00 per linear foot. Each map will be $8.00.

To place an order, please write to the Library of Congress,
Photoduplication Service, Washington, DC 20540 and request oversize xerox
copies of Irish Ordnance Survey Sheets #___ from County ________.
(Be sure to indicate the county). Please enclose your payment plus $3.50
for postage and handling with your order. Orders normally take four to
six week from the time your payment is received.

The Survey Sheet # can be found in General Alphabetical Index TO THE
TOWNLANDS AND TOWNS, PARISHES AND BARONIES OF IRELAND

BOOK SOURCES ON THE WEB (Fianna does not
endorse any commercial enterprise, these URL's are merely for your
convenience.)

The Making of America Digital Library contains selected books
and periodicals covering North American (mostly USA) social
history from the mid-1860s to 1925. According to its home page,
"The collection contains approximately 1,600 books and 50,000
journal articles with 19th century imprints."

Bookseller List
Did you that there are more than 100 genealogy booksellers online? Both
new and used books are sold, and although some of the sites
are Amazon and Barnes & Noble associates, there
are many other booksellers who sell specialized genealogical books.
Margaret Olson has gathered a list of their sites on her page.

BOOK MALL. This is a free service for all RootsWeb mailing list
subscribers (Missing Links is hosted by RootsWeb, so if you are a
Missing Links subscriber, you qualify to use this service). If
you have used genealogy books you would like to sell, place an
advertisement at this page. The seller is asked to make a
donation to RootsWeb in the amount of 10% of the sale price at
the time the book is sold.

BOOKS - FAMILY HISTORIES. Books for sale authored by RootsWeb
subscribers. If you have written a book that needs advertising to a huge
audience of genealogical researchers, please visit. Also, take a look to buy!

Here's a
link to convenient and relatively inexpensive history-book study for those
so inclined: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/LLewis/hoenstin.htm
This is Hoenstine Rental Library, a private library in PA which has many
reference/history books.